U.S. Pat. No. 4,155,042 issued May 15, 1979 to Permut et al. is directed to a disaster alert system. The disclosed system contains two major sub-systems. The first is a central disaster alert station and the second is a plurality of independent and remotely located disaster alert modules. Various output means are provided by which the population may be warned. These include sirens, flashing lights, etc.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,791,572 issued Dec. 13, 1988 to Green III et al. is directed to a method for displaying positional information on map. The invention first digitizes a map by using coordinates of reference monuments. By producing a table of positional data and comparing that data to actual geographical coordinates of references monuments, a determination of relative position of vehicles or vessels may be realized.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,857,840 issued Aug. 15, 1989 to Lanchais is directed to a guidance system. This system provides the user with a handheld device which indicates direction and distance to find a given location. The device functions essentially as a compass or homing device directed toward a specific intended target.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,893,247 issued Jan. 9, 1990 to Waudoit is directed to a device that helps to read a geographical map during the process of a journey covering the area described by the map. The invention uses a swivel upon which the map is mounted. Thus, a user may at all times locate his position on the map.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,962,473 issued Oct. 9, 1990 to Crain is directed to an emergency action system. The emergency action system contains most of the elements of a traditional security system ie., perimeter integrity alarms, video surveilance, central command console and computer networking.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,043,736 issued Aug. 27, 1991 to Darnell et al. is directed to a cellular position locating system. This system contains a portable remote GPS receiver and a transmitter by which to communicate the GPS data to a base station. The system provides for a method for determining the latitude and longitude coordinates of an individual in a remote location using a handheld remote unit and a cellular telephone system.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,132,684 issued Jul. 21, 1992 to Pecker et al. is directed to a traffic information system. The system requires a central monitoring board with an attendant who listens to information from helicopters, spotters, police accident reports and radio stations. The attendant then loads the information which is then transmitted to individual user monitors.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,214,757 issued May 25, 1993 to Mauney et al. is directed to an interactive automated mapping system. The system uses GPS data to create or update a geographic information base. The invention seeks to provide a real time display of a user's travel across an existing map.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,313,200 issued May 17, 1994 to Sone is directed to a road traffic congestion display system. This system is designed to be mounted in a vehicle and display a road map image which contains a set of directional arrows indicating traffic congestion at or near the vehicle.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,365,447 issued Nov. 15, 1994 to Dennis is directed to a GPS and satellite navigation system. This system is designed to increase the accuracy of data provided by GPS alone. The user receives data from both GPS and geostationary satellites which are calibrated and processed to obtain more accurate positional coordinates.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,367,306 issued Nov. 22, 1994 to Hollon et al. is directed to a GPS integrated emergency located transmitter (ELT) system. The system integrates the various electronic positioning systems to provide accurate information for an emergency transmitter. The system to designed to solve the prior art problem of loss of time in establishing the location of a beacon signal.
The 1987 paper on Electronic Crime Counter Measures from the Carnahan Conference on Security Technology is directed to a security console system. It is comprised of monitor, work stations, alarms and communication devices. It also contains a map display to be shown on console CRT color coded to indicate problem areas.